Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Burlington House

Lord Horam: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to meet with the Courtyard Societies of Burlington House to ensure that they remain based at their current premises.

Baroness Barran: Both DCMS and MHCLG are sympathetic to the Societies’ position and are working closely together to explore whether there is a solution that can deliver value for taxpayers and help the Society to remain in situ at New Burlington House.

Department of Health and Social Care

Travel: Quarantine

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide funding for COVID-19 (1) hotel quarantine accommodation, and (2) quarantine testing, for (a) not-for-profit organisations and charities, whose staff and representatives are involved in essential travel, and (b) individuals with a humanitarian need to travel, who could not otherwise afford to pay for such measures.

Lord Bethell: The Government has no plans to do so. However, for those facing significant financial hardship as a result of this charge, there is an opportunity to apply for a deferred repayment plan when booking.

Urinary Tract Infections: Medical Equipment

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of intermittent self-catheterisation with single use catheters on the level of hospital admissions in England for urinary tract infections; and what steps they are taking to ensure that patientswith urinary continence challenges have access to single use catheters.

Lord Bethell: No such assessment has been made. However, the National Institute of Health Research is funding a study to determine whether using a mixture of re-usable and single-use catheters is as safe and acceptable for intermittent catheterisation as using only single-use catheters.We are not currently taking any specific steps to ensure patients have access to single use catheters. The decision of which device should be offered to patients remains a clinical one.

Care Homes: Visits

Baroness Fox of Buckley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to introduce legislation to facilitateface-to-facevisits betweenpeople in residential carehomes and persons significant to them, in line with the recommendations made by the Joint Committee on Human Rights in their letter to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on 3 February.

Lord Bethell: We expect care homes to enable visiting unless they have a current outbreak, in which case visiting is more limited. We are currently pursuing non-legislative routes to make sure this is followed, involving our regional assistance team, local authorities and the Care Quality Commission. This approach allows us to move more swiftly in changing circumstances and to accommodate all care homes.

Kidney Diseases: Medical Treatments

Baroness Cumberlege: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions, if any,they have had with the NHS about updating the National Tariff Payment for dialysis to encourage greater uptake of home haemodialysis therapies.

Baroness Cumberlege: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have toencourage greater uptake of home haemodialysis, in line with the NICE Guidelines, COVID-19 rapid guidelines: dialysis service delivery, published on 20 March 2020.

Lord Bethell: NHS England and NHS Improvement are undertaking a national Renal Transformation Programme starting later in 2021. As part of this, ways to incentivise home dialysis will be considered, which may include use of tariffs or other commissioning levers.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to establish a national COVID-19 helpline, accessible in multiple languages, (1) to support and advise the public on the benefits of vaccination, and (2) to collect data on the long term effects of COVID-19.

Lord Bethell: Whilst there are no plans to establish national COVID-19 telephone helplines for the public to use to ask questions related to COVID-19 vaccines, the Department and the NHS and PHE are providing advice and information at every possible opportunity to support those who have been prioritised to receive a vaccine and anyone who has questions about the vaccination process. The latest advice and information is available online and our social media channels are regularly publishing fact cards, films and interviews about vaccine safety and answering frequently asked questions about vaccine production. In addition, senior clinicians are giving media interviews and taking part in live question and answer sessions with the public about COVID-19 vaccines.The Government’s communications plan includes targeted information and advice via TV, radio and social media. This is being translated into 13 languages including Bengali, Chinese, Filipino, Gujarati, Hindi, Mirpur, Polish, Punjabi and Urdu. Print and online material, including interviews and practical advice has appeared in 600 national, regional, local and specialist titles including media for African, Asian, Bangladeshi, Bengali, Gujarati, Jamaican, Jewish, Pakistani and Turkish communities.Research to evaluate the long-term health and psychosocial effects of COVID-19 is continuing. Major studies include the Post-Hospitalisation COVID-19 study in the United Kingdom and the International Severe Acute Respiratory and emerging Infection Consortium global COVID-19 long-term follow-up study.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Baroness Hamwee: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they haveto administerCOVID-19 vaccinations in prisons and other places of custody.

Lord Bethell: Working together with our partners across the secure and detained estate, vaccinations in prisons and detention centres has begun - delivering to the top priority cohorts defined by the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisations, in line with the rest of the population. As set out in the United Kingdom COVID-19 vaccines delivery plan, Local Vaccination Services are co-ordinating and delivering vaccinations to people who are unable to attend a vaccination site, including prisons and other places of custody.